Deal may be near in media-government spat

Fight is over sensitive U.S. economic data such as jobs report

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S.officials may relent on plans to force journalists to use government-owned computers to report on the monthly jobs report and other sensitive economic data.

At a congressional hearing Wednesday, officials at the Labor Department said they are holding talks with large media companies on how to craft new security procedures that do not trample on the rights of the press. While both sides say progress has been made, no agreement has been reached yet.

The department announced new security rules in early April without any warning and officials gave little explanation, other than citing unspecified security breaches.

After the media complained several leading lawmakers in Congress, led by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, pressed Labor to explain itself and try to accommodate concerns of the press.

“The abrupt nature of this change coupled with the absence of a clear explanation and a lack of public input raises key questions about who made the decision to implement this change and why,” said Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform.

Under longstanding practice, Labor gives a small number of media outlets access to important economic reports 30 minutes in advance at a so-called lockup. (MarketWatch is among the news organizations that takes part in the lockups).

The goal is to ensure journalists have time to ask questions, write news summaries and present the data as accurately as possible, said Keith Hall, former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For years journalists have used their own computers, phone lines and Internet connections to prepare and distribute their reports, though access to the outside world is cut off during the lockup via a master switch controlled by a government official.

Once the lockup ends, Labor allows the news organizations to simultaneously transmit the data to the public and to paying clients, such as Wall Street traders.

During the hearing Labor officials admitted publicly for the first time that part of their intent was to make sure traders are not getting access to the market-moving data seconds before the broader public. Yet media executives pointed out that the information is released to everyone at the same time.

Labor officials began to consider new security measures after a pair of lapses in late 2008 during the waning days of the Bush administration. In both cases, one news organization released economic data several seconds early because of unintentional technical problems, labor officials and media executives testified.

The news organization detected the problem itself, alerted Labor officials and the problem was resolved.

Under Labor’s proposed rules, reporters would be required to use government-owned computers and networking technology to write and transmit their reports. They would also be barred from bringing any unapproved items into the lockup, including pencils or USB memory sticks to save data.

Media executives say the new rules would make it harder to write and send economic reports to clients, including the general public, in a timely and informative way. They also raised concerns about using government technology, saying it would violate First-Amendment rights and set a dangerous precedent.

Lucy Dalglish, executive director of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said she knew of no instance in which federal agencies required journalists to use government-owned equipment.

“When you are using government computers, you don’t know what they are able to monitor from your work. You have no control over what goes out,” she said. “I think it is a very frightening prospect.”

Rob Doherty, U.S. general manager of Reuters News, said the media accepted the Labor Department’s desire to beef up security but that the rights of the press had to be protected, too. He said Labor could have avoided problems by discussing its proposals with the media before its surprise announcement in April.

“Our view is that the April 10 announcement plan did not strike a balance,” he said.

Pressure from Congress, mainly Republicans but some Democrats, appears to have played a role in talks at finding a compromise.

Daniel Moss, executive director of Bloomberg News, said the interest of Issa’s committee was “vital” in the process of kick-starting negotiations with a Labor Department initially unwilling to bend on its new rules.

The new rules are set to take effect July 6, though they could be delayed.

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